Semiconductor devices are commonly sorted into different categories based on performance characteristics determined during test by specialized automated processing equipment. Transport media include any fixture or carrier designed for transporting semiconductor devices internal or external to the automated processing equipment. An example is a plastic tray as specified by the JEDEC Design Standard. FIG. 1 is an illustration of a transport media 20 suitable for carrying a plurality of devices 21.
Automated handling equipment used to sort semiconductor devices into trays are generally referred to as automated handling equipment or binning handlers. Binning handlers facilitate the identification and sorting of devices by category. A device may be categorized based on a number of characteristics including, for example, processor speed. Binning handlers group devices of similar categories (e.g. processor speed) together after testing for further processing. Generally, for each category of device being sorted, binning handlers require each tray to be held in an individual tray station. These handlers use fixed or assigned tray stations to support and locate trays into which semiconductor devices are sorted. For each category of device being sorted there must be an individual tray station. Thus the dimensions of the binning handler increase in direct proportion to the number of device categories desired.
In view of the foregoing, a sort control process is needed which allows trays and devices to be dynamically assigned and sorted for optimum speed and flexibility. More particularly, it would be desirable to provide a sort control process that would assign trays to a desired category without delaying the device sorting process. Further, it would be desirable for the sort control process to allow the devices to be sorted into more categories than there are tray locations available inside a binning handler.